This an utter failure of the FCC to regulate the corporate media so that the information is actually useful for public discourse on the vital issues of the nation. Michael Winship, Writers Guild of America-East, writes: 

"CBS has cut the number of full-time news staff by about 60% since 1980, replacing many of them with temps and part-timers. In 1989, CBS network television news employed 28 researchers; by 1999, those positions were all gone. But what do these staff cuts mean to the public? Half the WGA members reported that at least several times a week, they use no more than a single website to check the accuracy of stories."

Michael Winship brings forth this "Network" moment:

"Hours after Hilton's June 26 catwalk to freedom, Scarborough and Brzezinski discussed one of the day's other big stories at their show's opening: influential Republican Sen. Richard Lugar's declaration that President Bush's Iraq strategy wasn't working.

It was then Brzezinski's turn to sum up the day's news. She looked down at her script and Hilton was the top story. She froze.

"I could not get through the first three words without crumbling," she said. "My skin was crawling. This was our lead? On a day like this? To me, it was just the ultimate Paris Hilton out-of-control moment. We've gone too far and we've got to stop. That was all real. There was nothing planned about that, and I believe we got a little snappy."

So what can we do?

Write the FCC.

Write to the heads of CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX.

Call your Congressional Representative.

Tell them that media consolidation is bad for democracy.

Tell them that the union busting tactics by major media players has given rise to news programs that are non-news masquerading as news like Video News Releases.  The disappearance of research staffers from news operations leads to unverified information from sources being used (e.g., Rudy Giuliani being quoted as saying that the Democratic presidential candidates will raise taxes 20-30 percent but there is no newsroom researches to cross check to verify that claim).

As Michael Winship states that it is grossly unfair for major news organizations to have "permatemps" working without allowing them the opportunity to advance to become full time unionized members.  Some of the "permatemps" have worked for 15 years without benefits.

A big hat tip to MyDD.com for carrying the article. 

Read the full article.